The non-believers were sent scattering again Saturday night as the Southeastern Conference was added to the inventory of Boise State’s victims from brand-name conferences. The fifth-ranked Broncos, who have disposed of teams from the Big 12, the Pac-12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference, wore out No. 19 Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, 35-21.
“We’ve been around for a while so I’m sure they’ve seen it,” running back Doug Martin said, adding, “The haters are decreasing.”
In its first game as a member of the Mountain West Conference, Boise State rode the arm of the left-handed quarterback Kellen Moore, who completed 28 of 34 passes for 261 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Moore finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting after last season and he will most likely stay in the Heisman hunt throughout 2011 if this game is any indication.
Boise State surrendered the ball with punts on its first three possessions before Moore started carving up the Bulldogs with a no-huddle offense.
The Broncos’ defense, meanwhile, snuffed the Bulldogs’ running game and did not allow Georgia to run a play on the Boise side of the 50-yard line until the third quarter. The Broncos’ front four, led by tackle Billy Winn and end Shea McClellin, quieted some of the hype around the heralded Georgia freshman tailback Isaiah Crowell (15 carries, 60 yards).
Aaron Murray, the Georgia sophomore quarterback, completed 16 of 29 passes for 236 yards and 2 touchdown passes. He may be regarded as the best quarterback in the SEC, but he could not keep up with Moore, who is a senior.
The crowd at the Georgia Dome erupted with 8 minutes 39 seconds left in the first quarter when the defensive back and return specialist Brandon Boykin snuck into the game as a running back and swept right end with a handoff. He burst up the field for an 80-yard score and a 7-0 lead.
The dart-throwing Moore quieted the crowd. He led three first-half drives deep into Georgia territory, two ending with touchdown passes: 17 yards to wide receiver Matt Miller and 12 yards to tight end Kyle Efaw.
“We play this noise at our practices; it’s the worst noise you’ve ever heard, but it makes the crowd appealing after you hear that,” Moore said of dealing with the crowd, which was a sea of red Georgia fans with a dot of blue Boise State fans here and there. “The noise tonight didn’t bother us.”
Moore came out and started slinging short passes over Georgia’s blitzing linebackers to add more points in the third quarter. The Broncos went 76 yards on their first possession, capped by Martin’s 7-yard touchdown run, and it was 21-7.
When the Broncos went ahead by 35-14 with 11:37 to play in the game, the fans in red started flowing to the exits.
Boise State played without safety Cedric Febis, the backup defensive tackle Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe and wide receiver Geraldo Boldewijn. The players, who are all from Amsterdam, were held out of the game because of a review of their N.C.A.A. eligibility.
The Broncos missed Febis and it showed with some blown coverages in the back of the secondary, but the Broncos displayed enough depth on both sides to make up for the missing players.
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